Molun’s face immediately crumpled. “No, hey, why is there crying in my bed? This should be a place for all the happy things.”
He tried to move, but let out a hiss of pain, and then said, “C’mere, c’mere.”
Perian somehow managed to drape himself over the man in a way that was hopefully not making him hurt more, and Molun was patting his back and telling him that everything was fine. Hadn’t Perian been telling him that everything would be fine?
For a few minutes, Perian could only cry harder, which he knew wasn’t fair. This was probably supposed to be Arvus’s thing, but he couldn’t help it, and he couldn’t seem to stop.
Brannal was there, too, cuddling up behind him, and Arvus had reached out a long arm— he was still tucked up beside Molun on the other side—and this was just the best. Gradually, Perian managed to calm down a little, the crying slowly tapering off until he was just lying against Molun’s chest, breath hitching periodically.
“I’m sorry,” Perian said, sniffling. “That was probably the worst way to wake up. I’m just so glad you’re all right.”
He caught himself on another sob, and Brannal leaned in and kissed the top of his head.
“He’s all right thanks to you. He’s going to be fine, Perian.”
Perian sniffed again, and tried really hard not to burst into tears once more.
He blew out a breath that only stuttered a little. “I’m so glad. So, so glad. You don’t know how glad.”
They all hugged him, and Perian closed his eyes for a moment and tried to bask in the presence of all of them here. They were all conscious and well—or at least on their way to well.
It felt like he’d put a ton of energy into denying any other possibility, and his body was kind of reeling from it.
“What happened?” Molun asked. “One minute, victory was in our grasp, the next—” His face squinched up. “Demon?”
“Demon,” the other three answered, and then they took him through everything that had happened.
As terrifying as it had been—and there was part of Perian that didn’t ever want to think about it again—it was already better now that Molun was better. And Molun deserved to know what hadhappened.
Perian was even able to laugh a little when Molun immediately declared that the demons had cheated, and his team should definitely be declared the winners of the training exercise.
Perian had to tell large chunks of the story, and he tried to skip over some of the worst bits and play up the wonderful parts like Nisal coming in the nick of time, Prince Horsey arriving, Perian having the tonic, and everyone getting naked so that Molun had bandages. (This made him smile, just like Perian had known it would.)
“You got to partake in the fastest that Prince Horsey has ever run,” Perian assured him. “It’s like he decided to outrun every run that we’ve ever been on. He got even faster when we saw the castle, like he knew just how important it was to get you to the doctor. He was such a hero.”
“I’m astonished that he let me ride him at all,” Molun said, a smile on his face, but eyes more serious. “I assume this was my one and only chance?”
“Well,” Perian acknowledged, “I would definitely approach with caution before you decide that it means that you’re best friends for life or anything. I did promise to feed him all the apples and carrots in the entire castle, so if you help with that, it could go a long way towards making things more cordial.”
Molun grinned. “I can definitely help with that.”
Perian nodded. He had no idea how long it would take Molun to recover, but Perian hadn’t given a time frame on that apple and carrot extravaganza. Perian would make sure to get started soon, and Molun could always join in later.
He swallowed and went on to explain how once they were back, the doctor had taken over and done such a fabulous job with the sewing and the cleaning and just… putting everything back together, including the bone.
Molun laughed and then groaned a little. “Yeah, it feels broken.”
Perian explained, “And I promised I wouldn’t leave you until you were better, so then the doctor got me cleaned up and put me in bed with you, which I hope is all right.”
Molun laced his fingers with Perian’s. “Of course, it’s all right.”
He bit his lip. “And we might have jerked off a few times just because that makes everyone feel better.”
Molun huffed a laugh. “That is totally fine, though I’m sad I missed it.”
“I might have mentioned a few times that I was sure Arvus would take care of you once you woke up.”
They were all laughing now.
